LHAHS Chapter 439
Tap— Tap—
Leo and Aaron walked down the spiral staircase leading to an underground chamber hidden deep within the Fairy King's domain.
"Interesting," Leo murmured as he descended the long passage. "They're suppressing it quite thoroughly."
From the moment they set foot on the staircase, he could feel the powerful force of the Fairy King.
"This isn't just an ordinary barrier, is it?" Aaron muttered under his breath.
Among the Three Great Summons, the Phoenix symbolized weapons such as swords and spears, the Pegasus represented cavalry, and the Fairy signified a shield—in other words, a barrier.
"It's literally severed from the outside world."
Not just physically, but dimensionally as well.
The staircase itself could be considered a space of its own. Fairy magic was inherently classified as unique magic due to its sheer potency, and the Fairy King was a mage who had mastered that powerful magic. This was a domain that the Fairy King had separated from the dimensional plane for five thousand years.
Even so, this structure is entirely different from the fairy magic I know.
It wasn't the same as the fairy magic Leo was familiar with.
"The structure of the spell formation… It resembles Luna's style."
"Ah, you're right. It does look like Luna's magic," Aaron marveled.
Sylord, who was flying beside them, replied, [Luna developed this barrier based on her research into fairy magic.]
"I see… Luna, huh?"
"She was regarded as the greatest genius in magical history, after all," Aaron spoke in admiration.
Leo smirked.
They continued descending the staircase for what felt like half a day. However, Sylord explained that the flow of time in this realm differed from the outside world. Eventually, they reached a massive stone door.
Leo narrowed his eyes, and Aaron's expression sharpened. They had come here knowing that a fragment of Erebos lay beyond this door. But now that they were standing before it, their bodies reacted instinctively.
[I'll open it.]
Rumble— Rumble—
The moment Sylord finished speaking, the stone door rumbled open with a heavy sound.
Leo and Aaron stepped into the stone chamber.
Inside stood a black humanoid mass, roughly the size of an adult man. It looked like a charred lump of coal or a melted, congealed hunk of metal. The only certainty was that it was blacker than the night sky and faintly radiated the energy of Erebos.
Its shape was different, and its aura was weak. But Leo and Aaron, who had fought against Erebos, immediately recognized what it was.
"Erebos." Aaron's murmured.
Leo stepped closer to it.
It was, quite literally, a dead ember, and yet, this had once been a catastrophic existence that nearly drove the world to ruin.
Moreover, three thousand years ago, a fragment of Erebos had reignited.
Sylord tried to destroy this over the past five thousand years, but it was futile, wasn't it?
It wasn't as though Sylord had simply left the fragment alone. Over the long years, he had attempted to eradicate it using the Fairy King's power. But no method had worked.
Even if its flames had vanished, Erebos was still Erebos. The primordial calamity feared even by the gods.
Leo had only managed to defeat it through a miracle, yet he had failed to erase it completely. Splitting it into six fragments had been the best he could do.
I can't touch it carelessly. If I disturb it and provoke a reaction, that would be a problem.
Leo's power was the ultimate counter to Erebos. If his energy interacted with the sealed fragment, there was no telling what might happen.
For now, suppressing it and keeping it away from Tartaros is the best option.
The fortunate thing was that the fragment showed no signs of awakening.
Even the Lich King doesn't know how to awaken it. Whatever the case, leaving it as it is remains the best course of action for now.
As Leo stared at the fragment of Erebos, Aaron sniffed the air.
"This definitely doesn't smell like the Erebos I remember."
[How so?]
"It still has that unpleasant stench, but… it's become more acrid."
[More acrid?]
"Yeah. Like ashes left after a fire."
Leo watched Aaron wrinkle his nose and spoke. "Does it show any signs of reigniting?"
At Leo's question, Aaron fell into thought.
"Not at all."
Leo nodded. "Then that's a relief. It means we don't have to worry about this fragment for now."
He turned to Sylord. "Sylord, I'll leave this to you for a while longer."
[You can count on me.]
Sylord grinned confidently and thumped his chest.
[After all, I was a comrade of the Great Heroes, wasn't I?]
"Reliable as ever." Leo laughed at Sylord's display.
[Aaron?]
Sylord tilted his head in confusion as he noticed Aaron staring at him.
[Why are you looking at me like that?]
"No, it's just… you've changed a lot, Sylord."
[Well, it has been five thousand years.]
Sylord smiled with a maturity that hadn't been there before.
Aaron looked down at his palm.
"I-If I hadn't died five thousand years ago," he lifted his head and asked, "would I have been able to escape my cowardice?"
"What do you mean?"
"Could I have become truly brave? The way people say I was… Could I have really become the Brave Hero?"
[I can't even imagine an Aaron like that. What about you, Leo?]
"Yeah, me neither."
As he listened to Leo and Sylord's conversation, Aaron nodded to himself. "Alright. Then I'll become a real Brave Hero."
"What?"
"That's my new goal."
"Do you really need to? You're already…"
"No. I'll be different from before." Aaron clenched his fist with determination.
Leo opened his mouth as if to say something, bt gave up and instead grinned. "Do your best."
"Yeah!"
A small pond in the middle of a dense forest.
"Huff! Huff! You're amazing! Huff!"
"Hiiiiiiik!"
Aaron's face twisted in fear as he looked at Aru clinging to his leg.
Seeing that, Leo made a face that practically said, Of course.
"And you were going on about becoming the Brave Hero, huh?" Leo mumbled.
Chelsea, who had been watching with a dumbfounded expression, tilted her head in confusion. "Huh? What do you mean?"
"Nothing, just talking to myself." Leo cut off the conversation and grabbed Aru by the scruff of her neck. "Stop it. We can't hold a lesson if you keep this up."
At his words, Aru snapped back to her senses and quickly let go of Aaron. Aaron wasted no time retreating behind Chelsea.
Chelsea looked up at him, mouth agape. "I thought your panic attacks had gotten a little better."
"But Black Rabbit! Just look at Aaron!"
Aru stared at Aaron, who was hiding behind Chelsea.
"Ahhh! So cool! The best! The fully harmonized Aaron is the best! Ahh! He's too dazzling! I can't even look straight at him!"
She covered her eyes in excitement.
"How dignified! I can feel the majesty of the Brave Hero!"
"Shouldn't you get your eyesight checked?" Leo sighed as Aru twisted reality to her liking, completely ignoring the fact that Aaron was cowering behind someone smaller than him.
"Leo, I have a question."
"Go ahead."
"Aaron seems really different from the Aaron in the stories I read. Was he always like this?" Chelsea asked hesitantly, as if she couldn't believe it.
Leo nodded. "Yeah."
"No way."
Who would have ever guessed?
To modern people, the Brave Hero Aaron was the very symbol of courage itself.
Though I guess those completely obsessed eyes are kind of terrifying. Chelsea muttered as she glanced at Aru's crazed eyes.
"But why are you hiding behind me, of all people?" she asked.
Aaron replied, "Something about it feels familiar and reassuring."
Chelsea gave him a bewildered look at his response.
Meanwhile, Aaron had composed himself and stepped toward Aru. "Want to try Howling?"
At his words, Aru activated her aura. Aaron nodded as he observed the fully prepared Aru.
"Alright, try it now."
Aru took a deep breath. Seeing that, Chelsea adjusted the air around them with magic.
"Nyaaaaoooong!"
A massive roar erupted. Chelsea felt her entire body tingle from the sheer force.
Incredible.
She swallowed dryly.
This was the undeniable presence of Azonia's second-year representative.
Hearing Aru's Howling, Aaron crossed his arms. "They say there are various types of Howling in this era, right?"
"Yes!"
Aaron's Howling instilled fear in enemies and courage in allies. But in the modern era, depending on the hero, its effects varied. Some versions temporarily enhanced physical abilities, while others disoriented foes.
"So beastmen with such Howling traits usually become mages or summoners?"
"That's right!" Aru answered energetically.
Aaron pondered for a moment before taking a deep breath.
"Kruooooooooong!"
A thunderous roar burst forth, incomparable to Aru's.
Aru and Chelsea, overwhelmed, lost strength in their legs and collapsed to the ground.
"A-Amazing."
"So cool!"
Chelsea trembled in awe, while Aru quivered with excitement.
As the two of them marveled at Aaron's presence, Leo narrowed his eyes and looked at his hand. His body felt noticeably lighter than before.
"Did you add a buffing effect to Howling?"
"Yeah."
"What?"
"Now that you mention it, my body…?"
Aaron answered Leo's question casually, while Aru and Chelsea's eyes widened.
"I combined the modern use of Howling with the mana flow mages use when casting buff magic."
The way modern beastmen used Howling and the way Aaron used it were fundamentally different.
Aaron's Howling was the original. Later generations of beastmen had studied, refined, and adapted it.
Through that process, it had changed significantly, and new effects that Aaron himself couldn't use had emerged.
Aaron had observed Aru's vocalization and the characteristics of modern beastmen's Howling—and on the spot, he recreated an entirely new effect.
"Wait, that's… possible?"
"I tried it, and it worked."
"As expected of Aaron!"
Chelsea looked at him in disbelief, while Aaron chuckled. Meanwhile, Aru's eyes sparkled as she sang his praises.
"But Aru, I don't sense any special power from you when you howl."
"I've only done it once, by chance…"
"Is that so? Then maybe practicing Howling's vocalization will help it manifest. There's a special training method for Howling."
"Ooooh! What is it?!" Aru's eyes shone with excitement.
Aaron moved behind her, slipped his hands under her arms, and lifted her up. Then, with Aru looking confused, he carried her toward the pond.
Aru's face went pale. "N-No way…"
"Yeah. You just need to fall into the water."
Whoosh! Splash!
"Nyaaaaah?!" Aru let out a cat-like shriek as she flailed in the water.
Aaron shouted at her, "Scream as loudly as you can underwater!"
"Blub blub blub blurble!"
Even though she hated water, Aru somehow managed to shove her face into it and let out a roar.
"Pwah!"
Gasping for air, she resurfaced, only for Aaron to command, "Go right back in!"
"Wha—?!"
"This was the training Luna used to help me strengthen my Howling. It's miserable, but it works. The key is to take the deepest breath possible in a single moment."
"Understood! Hup!"
Aru plunged her face back underwater.
Blub blub blub!
"Kuhak!"
Thud!
"Ehck?!"
Aru's eyes bulged as Aaron grabbed her head and pushed it back into the water.
"I-I can't breathe—Kuhak!"
"If you want to live, breathe properly!"
"Blub blub blub!"
Splash! Splash!
"…Isn't this just water torture?"
"Looks that way."
"Aaron, are you trying to drown that idiot cat because she scared you earlier?"
Given how terrified Aaron had been of Aru just moments ago, it seemed like a real possibility.
"I doubt it. Look at his face. He clearly doesn't want to be doing this."
Despite his ruthless actions, Aaron wore a pained expression as he forced Aru back into the water. He clearly hated it, but he was pushing through for Aru's sake.
He's doing exactly what Luna did to him.
Back then, Aaron had still been a teenager. Through this training, he had perfected Howling. Luna's methods had helped him immensely.
…Of course, after that, Aaron completely lost his trust in Luna.
"Do you think this will work?" Chelsea asked skeptically.
Leo rested his chin on his hand. "It's training directly from the Brave Hero himself. It should be effective."